MAPPS 2012 Geospatial Products and Services Excellence Awards 2012 Awards Entry Form Please include a copy of this document with the project/product submission Entry Information Submission Number: 1741558 Name of Firm: Sidwell Address: 675 Sidwell Court Saint Charles, IL 60174 United States Primary Contact: Brett Black Primary Contact Phone Number: 630.715-4206 Primary Contact Email: bblack@sidwellco.com Project Manager: Randy Kobiella Project Manager Email: rkobiella@sidwellco.com About the Project Project Name: City of Storm Lake GIS/GPS Project Category: D. GIS/IT Geographic Location of Project: City of Storm Lake, Iowa Scheduled Date of Completion: Open Actual Date of Completion: December, 2011 Affirmed: I agree that this project follows the completion date criteria Budgeted Fee: $46,690 Actual Fee: $46,690 Yes: I accept the competition rules. Yes: I am aware that a client/owner letter must be submitted as part of the bound submission for Categories A-F, due August 31, 2012. The letter must include the permission to publicize project s details with respect to its complexity, innovative application of technology or techniques, and value to the geospatial profession and the public.
Located in Buena Vista County, the City of Storm Lake, IA is spread across four square miles and currently has a population of 10,600. After many years of relying on other agencies to produce their maps, the City determined it needed GIS as a resource to enable efficient and effective responses to geospatial information requests from the various City departments. To achieve their goals, the City of Storm Lake selected Sidwell, an industry leader of GIS solutions and Esri Gold Business Partner to develop a comprehensive geospatial inventory of critical municipal infrastructure and robust information deployment solution. Sidwell also partnered with local surveying and engineering firm Kuehl & Payer, Ltd. to complete this project. According to Justin Yarosevich, City of Storm Lake Assistant City Manager / City Clerk, The City believed that to achieve its desired results both in terms of functionality, as well as supporting local vendors, that a partnership between Sidwell and Kuehl & Payer was the best option. The City was also able to work with Buena Vista County to satisfy all their background data needs, as well as utilize students from Buena Vista University s Biology Department for the tree inventory (efficiently and accurately identifying tree species) and road sign inventory portion of the project. Project Design Sidwell was responsible for project management and the development of the City s ArcGIS geodatabase which includes the following features: Base Map Features (Periodically updated from Buena Vista County) Digital Orthophotography Municipal Boundaries Subdivision and Lot Boundaries Parcel Boundaries Right-of-Ways and Centerlines Water Bodies Annotation and Dimensions City Features (Survey Grade) Sanitary Sewer Sanitary Manholes Water Valves Fire Hydrants Fiber Optic City Features (Sub-foot) Traffic Signs Traffic Signals Park Equipment Park Boundaries Drainage Districts Street Classifications Sidwalks Zoning Classifications Trees Data Collection Kuehl & Payer, a company with extensive experience in collecting survey-grade accurate data, was responsible for the GPS field collection of all new features, as well as providing the necessary attribute data. Two separate levels of accuracy criteria, survey-grade and sub-foot, were established, which required the use of two distinct GPS/GNSS products for data collection: Product Name Accuracy Real-Time Correction Source Trimble R8 GNSS RTK Rover & TSC3 w/ Access Software Ashtech MobileMapper 100 w/ Esri ArcPad 10 Survey Grade Sub-foot Iowa DOT IaRTN Iowa DOT IaRTN Choosing field data collection software that fits project specifications or a specific application is a key component to a successful project of this nature. The data collection software will be heavily utilized in the field and can either help streamline a project to be more efficient, or greatly hinder a project s timeline if the wrong package is chosen. Sidwell, it conjunction with the City of Storm Lake and I&S
Group/Kuehl & Payer, outlined the features we were collecting, workflow, the accuracy specifications as well as other significant factors to make certain we were selecting software that would benefit the field users as well as the overall project. Survey Grade Accuracy for Field Data Collection: (Trimble Access Software) Typical GIS data collection software can provide highly accurate horizontal measurements (sub-centimeter), however, most lack the field use of a geoid model to compute orthometric heights or elevations. Due to this limitation, it was determined that the Trimble Access software should drive the projects survey accurate needs and was paired with a Trimble R8 GNSS Rover to not only accurately collect a horizontal position for the center sanitary manholes, but also orthometric heights as well. Sub-foot Accuracy for Field Data Collection: (Esri ArcPad 10) Due to the quantity of attributes associated with a number of features being collected in the field and the need for efficient and accurate entry, it was determined a robust GIS field data collection software would be needed. Also, another deciding factor was the fact that there would be a one-to-many relationship involved when collecting street posts to street signs. In this case, Esri ArcPad 10 was the clear selection due to the ability to customize and streamline the field data collection process. Client 50cm Accuracy for Maintaining Assets: (Esri ArcGIS for Windows Mobile) After the initial field data collection was complete and the geodatabase delivered to The City of Storm Lake, they wanted to be able to adequately maintain their GIS and associated assets, namely for trimming trees and flushing hydrants. It was noted that they were specifically interested in an intuitive and easy-to-use field data collection software to put in the hands of a field technician who could simply pick up the unit, update specific records, with minimal training as they would not be utilizing field GNSS units on a frequent basis. Since Esri ArcPad data collection software was being deployed for the initial inventory process, Sidwell used the ArcPad Data Manager extension in ArcGIS Desktop to check-out the necessary features for collection purposes. After collection, Kuehl & Payer periodically uploaded data for Sidwell to check-in, process into the project geodatabase, and create intuitive mapping symbols for public consumption. Since all features collected in the field were points, Sidwell was also responsible for mapping linear features (sewer lines, storm sewer lines, etc.) based upon the collection locations and attributes of the collected points. GIS Construction Several production processes were employed in the creation of the Storm Lake GIS. No existing maps were provided for the fiber optic layer, so it was constructed by connecting the linework to the survey grade GPS points and attributes. The water layer was built using a combination of old paper maps and GPS point locations. The paper maps were used as a reference for general infrastructure, and contained some attribute information such as size and materials. The GPS points collected gave us the field attributes of the fixtures, along with the exact locations of the valves, tee s, and other fixtures, making the network of pipes and fixtures highly accurate. The trails and sidewalks were mapped using only their high resolution aerial imagery as the source to build the layers. Training Once all field data collection and compilation was complete, Sidwell provided comprehensive training to City staff on how to successfully view, analyze, and maintain the City GIS. Currently, field collection is being performed with Ashtech MobileMapper 100 and Esri ArcGIS for Windows Mobile software,
which provides the field technicians an intuitive and easy-to-use tool for field collection and data editing. Web Deployment Sidwell then began the process of consolidating and symbolizing the various data elements into an informative and easy to use web portal. Built on their best of breed Portico technology, Sidwell worked closely with city and county staff, as well as the other vendors, to assemble the web mapping application. The tables below detail the sources and their providers: Data Sources City of Storm Lake Buena Vista County Springbrook Collected Features Photos Cadastral Features Orthophotography Tabular Asset Data With the main data sources added to the web application, Sidwell and the City of Storm Lake began integrating it with various internal and external systems to further expand the breadth of information presented to the users. External Integration Web Links Buena Vista County Springbrook Current Assessment Information Utility Billing Information Building Permit Information Code Management Information The website was then opened to a select group of City and County staff for evaluation and testing. During this prototype period, Sidwell and the city went through several rounds of updates and additions to customize the site to meet everyone s expectations. After the website was approved, Sidwell finalized the web application by automating the data update processes where possible, and by adding security components to restrict access to certain information based on direction from the city. It was then opened to the public and continues to be hosted by Sidwell. Client Satisfaction According to Justin Yarosevich, this project is significant in that The City sees the long term benefits of this project enabling the City and its staff to become more efficient and provide a more timely response in everything from Police calls for service to Fire calls, water main breaks, and zoning requests to name a few. We also know that the robust and comprehensive system that we are building will be a resource for our community for generations to come. With the flexibility of this solution, the City is also now well positioned to make further enhancements to their system with new and emerging GIS technology.